First game of the season then, and some tough choices to make in terms of team selection.
This was the resulting team selection:
Jo Murray makes his Nottinghamshire debut ahead of Wessels, and the other major change is Shahzad being selected ahead of Patel. Hopefully Broad will be able to step up with the bat to make up for the change.
Toss: Middlesex win the toss and bat first.
Day 1:
Definitely a day for the batsmen. Middlesex finished on 379-7, led by a virtually chanceless century from Chris Rogers. The bowling didn’t look great, and we struggled on a flat surface. We were also not helped by our inability to remove the tail end batsman, Murtagh currently 65* at the close. We need some quick wickets if we want to win this.
Day 2:
We did not get the quick wickets. Murtagh finished on 109, and Harris 68, as we face a real uphill struggle to get anything from this match, Middlesex finishing on 466.
Until the last session, we were doing ok. We lost 6 wickets in the last session to leave us at risk of following on. A small consolation was half centuries for Cowan, Hales and Taylor, with Murray also getting one, unbeaten at the close.
Day 3:
We had the tailenders to thank for a sterling batting performance. Murray top scored with 73, as we avoided the follow-on with ease. Swann got a half century and Fletcher got some useful runs, as we look to take quick wickets in this second innings.
We don’t understand quick wickets apparently, as Middlesex finished 272 ahead on 191-2. I would imagine this is going to finish in a draw now.
Day 4:
Middlesex declared on 245-3, leaving us a mammoth 330 to chase from 2 ½ sessions. We finished at lunch on 100-1, Hales getting a quickfire half century. Cowan did fall though, but James Taylor continued where he left off.
At tea, we were 220-3, needing 110 runs to win. We suffered a major blow though as Murray departed in the last over of the session. Hales has an unbeaten century, so we will be looking to him to see this through for us.
It all came down to the final over. Hales and Read started the session slowly, before Lumb replaced Read and immediately increased the run rate. With 40 mins to go, Hales finally fell, replaced by Broad. With 4 overs to go, we were 26 short, but a nightmare over for Roland-Jones saw us gain 16 from it with two 6’s, and put us in the driving seat. With 4 balls to go, Shahzad, replacing Lumb, hit the ball to the boundary to win the match. Undeserved? Perhaps. Delighted? Definitely.
Batting Award:
Alex Hales – Showed real composure.
Bowling Award:
Shahzad, if only because he got the most wickets.
Points:
Middlesex 8, Notts 22
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